People Are Taking Pet Medicine & You Won't Believe Why

If you're a person with the internet, chances are you've heard some stuff about health insurance and the U.S. health care system lately. And we can't deny that there's a bit of a problem. Some people are staying away from doctors because of the expense, and they're turning to a VERY suspicious route to get antibiotics instead.

Some people have started using pet medicine to deal with their illnesses.

Yeah, you read that right. According to Mashable, people either a) don't have insurance and can't afford a doctor's office visit for medication, or b) have insurance, but still can't afford the hefty co-pays.

The most popular drug right now is fish antibiotics, which people take instead of getting a prescription for human antibiotics.

And what's even crazier? They're ordering them from Amazon. You really can get anything from that site. One popular brand of antibiotics is Fin Mox, available on Amazon for $44.95. This antibiotic is made for fish, but reading the reviews, it's pretty clear that most orders aren't for your usual "fishy" infection.

Yeah, those reviewers aren't even being that subtle about how much this drug helped their "fish." But these somewhat silly product reviews reveal that there's a REAL problem with our health industry. Because we can't imagine many people would take fish antibiotics instead of people antibiotics if they had any other choice.

Mashable spoke to Carrera Howie, a woman who took fish antibiotics to cure a UTI. She explained, "Urgent care and doctors' co-pays are so expensive, and it sometimes feels like I have to make a choice between having a provider and having groceries." And that's not a decision anyone wants to make, but taking a risk on a fish antibiotic means things are pretty dire.

People on Twitter are pretty open about the fact that they, too, have tried pet medicine.

Definitely hit up a pet store last year for antibiotics and the guy working said "they caught onto us and took them out :/"

But even though proponents and some users say these antibiotics work just like human antibiotics, they're NOT FDA approved and NOT meant for humans.

The back of the bottle of Fin Mox clearly states that this isn't meant for humans. And some of these products aren't even FDA approved to use on fish, so that's a little scary. We definitely see how this trend points to major problems in our health system, but these peoples' strategies seem too extreme.

Prescription medications are no joke, so you should always consult your doctor before using them.